Column 4 – Do You Hate Your Mornings? By The FlyLady, Marla Cilley

Do you hate your mornings? Do you wake up in a bad mood? Do you feel like you got up on the wrong side of the bed? Your mornings do not have to be like this. All it takes is a little thought to change the CHAOS you have been living in.

That little thought is as simple as knowing what clothes you are wearing when you get up. If you will think about your morning before you actually have to face it; your mornings will run smoother. It all starts with a little before bed routine.

Half the battle with your morning has to do with you not being prepared to start your day. You run around in a tizzy trying to do all those last minute things you procrastinated about the night before. Here is what happens when we put something off. Let’s start with our before bed routines.

1. We go to bed at 1:00 or 2:00 am and have to get up at 7:00 am. We procrastinated by not going to bed at a decent hour. Then we can’t get up on time.

2. After you hit the snooze button a few times and it is 7:30 am and to get to work on time we have to leave at 7:45 am. Now you have 15 minutes to get dressed and out the door and you have no clean clothes.

3. Not only did you go to bed late, but you did not lay out your clothes for tomorrow. So there again you have procrastinated and you are rushing around.

4. Now you are feeling the time crunch and the pressure of being late to work or an appointment again. Then the guilt starts to pile on.

5. With the guilt comes blaming others and not looking at what our role was in our perpetual tardiness. Then we have martyrdom and the loud yelling voices that just add to the stress along with the guilt.

6. Now we are half dressed, jumping in a car trying to put on makeup while driving and not paying attention to what we are doing. Not to mention that you have skipped breakfast and there is not even time for a quick drive through the golden arches. Well that could be the only positive thing about rushing; not time for negative nutrition with fast food.

7. Next thing we know the blue lights are flashing in our rearview mirror and we have yet another speeding ticket to have to explain and pay for.

8. That is, if we are lucky and we haven’t had a car accident with our babies in the car.

9. More money wasted all because we procrastinated and didn’t go to bed in a decent hour to get up and start our day on the right foot instead of behind the eight ball.

Just writing this makes me nauseated. I could not live this way anymore. The constant surge of adrenalin is hard on our bodies. We have to find a way to relieve the stress that our procrastination causes in our lives. Are you listening to me! Procrastination can kill us and maim our children. It can be a slow painful death of our bodies turning on us because of the constant surge of adrenalin with immune dysfunction or it can be a quick one with a car accident. You have a choice to stop this right now!

If I can ever get you to make peace with your mornings by establishing a few simple habits in your life; you will never go back to living this way. The calmness of the mornings will start you out on a firm and steady pace for your whole day.

Before you go to bed:
1. Gather up the items you will need for tomorrow and put them by your front door.
2. Check your calendar for tomorrow’s appointments
3. Lay out your clothes for tomorrow
4. Brush and floss your teeth and wash your face.
5. Go to bed at a decent hour, this way you will feel like getting up!

When you get up in the morning:
1. Get dressed as soon as your feet hit the floor
2. Swish and Swipe the bathroom while you are getting dressed.
3. Eat Breakfast, drink water and take your supplements and medications
4. Gather up the items to take with you.
5. Do not wait till the late moment to leave your home. It is OK to be early.

These simple habits will change your life. The main thing you have to do is go to bed at a decent hour so you will have the energy to get started on your day. You can do this.

Are you ready to FLY though your day with a simple Before Bed Routine and Morning routine starting you off on a calm note?

For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out her website and join her free mentoring group at www.FlyLady.net or her book, Sink Reflections published by Random House and her New York Times Best Selling book, Body Clutter published by Simon and Schuster. Copyright 2011 Marla Cilley Used by permission in this publication.